Pleasantville’s Gabriel Moronta and Quentin Bundy led a deep, fast boys 800 Saturday at the South Jersey Track Coaches Association meet at the Bennett Center.
Seven boys ran 2:01-point or faster, and five of them PR’d. You know we’re getting into the heart of the track season when someone runs 2:01 and doesn’t even place in the top six.
Moronta, a junior, lowered his indoor PR from 2:00.06 to 1:59.48 with the win. Bundy, a senior, was second in 1:59.90, a season best but just off his indoor PR of 1:58.60 set when he was 10th at last year’s Meet of Champions.
Absegami junior Keishaun Joga was next in 2:00.24, a 4 1/2-second PR! Joga’s previous 800 PR was a 2:04.80 just a couple weeks ago on the same track.
Cinnaminson junior Austin Gabay finished fourth in 2:00.68, which is an indoor PR since he’s never run an 800 indoors before. Gabay, more of a 1,600-3,200 runner, does have an outdoor 1:58.32 to his credit.
Camden’s versatile junior Dontae Guest was next across the line in 2:01.32. Guest, who runs everything from the 400 to the high hurdles to cross country, had a previous 800 PR of 2:03.48 from last year’s sectionals outdoors. He hadn’t run one indoors.
Pitman junior Sebastien Reed took fifth in 2:01.83. Like Gabay, he’s more of a 1,600-3,200 guy, and the 2:01 was a five-second PR. His indoor PR was a 2:06.38 from a couple weeks ago. He’s got a 2:05.94 from last spring.
Absegami senior Oratile Moeng was 2-100ths of a second back of Reed with a 2:01.85, which took down his indoor PR of 2:02.71 from last year and is within a second of his overall 800 PR of 2:00.83 from the Cape Atlantic Meet last spring.
All seven are now ranked among the top 12 in South Jersey this year, ranging from Moronta at No. 4 to Moeng at No. 12.
